Sega Toys iFish

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

February 06, 2006

And now for a review of a product that is both wacky and different. The iFish from Sega Toys, the same people that brought us the iDog. I wasn't too sure what I would have to say about this combination speaker and robot pet thingy when Brando asked if I would review it, but I thought it would at least be something offbeat. So here goes...

The iFish is about 8 inches long by 4.5 inches tall and is constructed of plastic. The head of the iFish is solid, while the tail resembles an actual fish tail with many bones. The tail can sway back and forth with a slight touch.

This toy is powered by 3 AA batteries (not included) that fit into the belly. Once the batteries are installed, you can tap one of the front fins to wake the fish up. 5 LEDs on each side of the head and 3 LEDs in the tail will light up and cycle colors. Bubbling noises will play from its speaker, and wheels in the belly will allow the fish to spin around in a circle.

After about 2 minutes of pressing the fins, and watching the iFish twirl around and wag its tail, I was thinking that there must be more to this toy than what I am seeing. So, I pulled out the one page English translated instruction sheet. After reading it, I learned that when the iFish is happy, it will dance and play music. Also, tapping the head will cause the fish to "play a different animation based on the position of the biorhythm". Um... Ok, whatever.

The iFish is also supposed to react to sounds, so I tried talking to it and even yelling at it. Sometimes it would spin around, but most of the time it seemed to just ignore me . Right now I'm typing in a quiet room and it's on the desk next to me wagging its tail every so often and making water noises.

Hmmmmm, maybe I should read the instructions again. Ahhh, if you hold down one of the fins, the iFish will start to play music. The music that it plays is kind of depressing though. The box says the music is healing. Um... Ok, whatever.

One of the main features of the iFish is the ability to plug in a CD or iPod into the fish and have the music play through the speaker while the fish dances and flashes its LEDs. Included with the iFish is a 2 foot long patch cable that plugs into the earphone jack of your iPod, and then into the fin on the iFish. I could see how this might be kinda cool, but, the speaker in theiFish is not stereo. Phooey. Volume isn't bad, and can be adjusted through your audio device. The iFish will automatically power off after 20mins in this mode.

See it in action...

Click on image to play the QuickTime video (1min 38sec, 3.7mb).

As a novelty item, the iFish is amusing. I really like the way the tail moves back and forth like a real fish. But for $65, I think I can live without a plastic fish that can wag its tail and flash LEDs. And as an iPod speaker, I think there are much better alternatives already available. Sorry iFish, you're just not the iPet for me.